Abbott and Costello may very well be the best comedy duo of all time–at least in my opinion. I hadn’t seen their “Who’s On First” routine in years, so I went out and found it on YouTube. It’s still every bit as funny today as the first time I watched it. It’s amazing how timeless their comedy is.

If you’ve never seen the routine, you’re missing out. Otherwise, enjoy it again.

The English language is always evolving. New words are added and others slowly fade away. In 1968, The World Book choose words to be added to the 1969 edition of its dictionary. These words were no doubt in use for several years prior to 1968, but they finally gained common enough acceptance to finally be recognized.

It’s quite a long list, but I have pared it down to the more interesting ones. Below are some that you will certainly recognize, then some that never quite caught on.

Here are some words that you will certainly recognize:

arm twister

ax grinder

beefcake

brain-picking

character assassination

day-tripper

diploma mill

fertility drug

guinea-pig

handgun

hippie

in-joke (now inside joke of course)

instant replay

meat-and-potatoes

Medicaid

plain-Jane

R and R

speed reading

trendsetter

tween

zap

Here are some that apparently didn’t catch on after all. (Warning: a few of these are racial insensitive and rightly no longer used. They are only here as a historical study.)

Bob’s your uncle – you know the rest; that’s all there is to it

breen – a brown-tinted green color

Chinese homer – a home run made on a hit that travels only a short distance

daymare – an experience that is like a bad dream

GUM – state-operated department store in the Soviet Union

nebbish – a drab, clumsly, inconsequential person

nudnik – a tiresome, annoying person

rice Christian – an Asian or African native who converts to Christianity soley to receive food provided by missionaries

roadeo – a contest or exhibition of skill in driving automobiles, trucks, etc.

slanguage – slangy language

squaw winter – a brief period of prematurely cold weather in early autumn